Need some help with this app

I installed the phonetrack from F-droid and was able to create a log job with my NC v16. All is working fine. I did not login with NC account in the phonetrack, Instead I used NC path, session ID and reserved device ID and all connected and working fine.

Questions I have:

  1. As you create a new log job seems like there are two options:
    a. New PhoneTrack log job
    b. New custom log job.

When do I need to use one versus the other? If I have another android device that will send log points to same NC instance and session which option I have to use on this other device?

  1. Offline maps. I downloaded the .map files from that site posted on wiki and moved them /sdcard/osmdroid as directed but I don’t see the new off-line maps in the tile icon. Do they have to be under certain directories by countries? For instance if I dropped Italy.map on /sdcard/osmdroid I should at least see italy in the offline Maps?

Also, on phonetrack app when you launch it and tap on hamburger icon on top left you see an option for Map. What is its use for? When I tap on it says “Impossible to display session on the map” Which map is this trying to use?

  1. The number 1000 points default. What is this number? Is this the limit on the database? So after 1000 points If I pick to remove older points and not stop logging, is it just for viewing purpose on the session? or is the capacity of points in the database? I just started using the app in the last two days and I already have 400 points logged.

Thanks,

Hey,

  1. A PhoneTrack logjob lets you send positions to Nextcloud PhoneTrack app. A custom logjob lets you send positions to any server ready to receive them. It sends GET or POST HTTP requests with a bunch of parameters (listed in the interface).

  2. You put the .map file in the correct place. Are you sure your file is a v4 mapsforge map file? When it works, you should see a ‘MapsForge’ map tile provider in PhoneTrack Android.

Also, on phonetrack app when you launch it and tap on hamburger icon on top left

Just to be sure: Are you talking about the Nextcloud app or the Android app?

If it’s about the Android app, if you’re logged in with your NC account credentials and you ask for the map with the sidebar entry, you should be able to select one of your sessions (from PhoneTrack-Nextcloud) and see the devices of this session.

  1. Are you talking about “Max number of points per device to load on refresh” in the Nextcloud app? Don’t worry about that, it’s just a “display” limit. It does not limit the amount of points you can store. Its goal is to limit the CPU load. If all your points are loaded when page is loaded or a session is enabled, it can lead to a freeze when there are too many points.
1 Like

Thank you eneiluj!

As far as the mapsforge files, yes, I downloaded them from the link posted on the wiki page. I guess my mistake is that I put them in the android phone. I guess these have to be uploaded on nextcloud app on Nexcloud server? I will try and place them there. Can I arrange these files by directories or have to be just files on that path? Also does any service need to be restarted so these files become effective or once there I should see the MapsForge?

Reason I wanted to deploy these offline maps is that zooming in makes the current map very sluggish and sometimes have to wait minutes before it shows up. Is it because of the 1000 points that it waits to refresh per view? Even if I keep linetracks off the on-line map is sluggish on both server and android app.

Thanks again.

No, the mapsforge files are for the Android app, they have to be placed where you’ve put it.

I don’t know the details about how you can organize them but it’s explained in OsmDroid documentation.

Normally there is nothing to do except visit the map to be able to select MapsForge as tile provider. Maybe try to stop your logjobs, force close the app and open it again.

The map on PhoneTrack-Android just shows the last device positions, so one point per device. It has no impact on the app performance. If it’s slow, this is most likely due to your internet connection speed.

ok, so I setup the phonetrack android app to now “Use the account from Nextcloud Files app” and after doing so it displayed “Sessions Synchronized” and I saw the map icon next to statistics icon (i). Tapping on that now opens the map where I see the devices involved in that session.

It appears though as in this map you can only see real time locations and there is no line tracking, so it is not a replacement for the public link where you can track in time, filter, disable line tracking etc.

Looks like if you do not want to enable public link there is no way from the android app to see line tracking and points with additional info like battery status, speed etc
 Is this a correct statement?

Thanks again,

Nope, for the moment, there is no way to see device positions history in the Android app.

What about your mapsforge issue?

Yes, sorry, I can now see the option to switch for MapsForge, although it is all empty. I did put only Italy.map for a test but nothing shows on the map.

Another question:
What is the purpose of the lockpad (Forbid Devices to login to this session) Is this referring to devices already registered with this session and logging data to it, or it mean you cannot register additional devices with this session?

Thanks,

I am unable to use the offline maps. I downloaded .map files of v3, v4 and v5 and none of them works on android v9 that my phone is running. v4 only gives a yellow background but there is nothing else on the map. I do see the option to switch to MapsForge but the map won’t display.

Any idea?

Updated the android app to latest 0.1.0 and the phonetrack app in nextcloud to latest 0.6.4. I now am able to see and use the offline maps that I had installed on my phone. Thanks for this feature!

I’m using Nextcloud 18.0.6

There’s always something

I had a session running with two devices on it. I had shared the session so both devices could see each other on the map. This was working fine until I upgraded the android app to 0.1.0 from 0.0.17. Now each device sees itself on the map but they don’t see each other. Also the icons on android map changed and they don’t match anymore the ones that I see from the server map on PC.

From Nextcloud on PC when I go to Phonetrack I do see both devices and everything else.

Uninstalled the app from both devices, reinstalled back with no luck. They still cannot see each other on android map. Devices are using Android 9.

Any suggestions what could have gone wrong?

Thanks again for the offline Maps!

Never mind, the other device had turned off the session on browser.

All working fine now.